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Reno to pay departing city manager's attorney fees, 6-month severance

Timeline: A look back at Andrew Clinger's tenure at the city

A look at the highs and lows of Reno City Manager Andrew Clinger's five years at the helm of the city.

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May 2011

Clinger hired as city manager

Before he came to the city, Clinger served as state budget director for three governors. In 2011, he was tapped by Mayor Bob Cashell to become the new city manager. At the time, Reno was facing a severe financial crisis. Clinger was sought after for his expertise in helping steer government through troubled financial times.

With its finances in shambles after taking on crippling debt prior to the recession, Reno was on the brink of a state take over. Clinger, working with his new finance director Robert Chisel, laid out a new plan to address the debt and fix the finances. Most notably, they found an overlooked state law that required the county to make a higher payment to the Redevelopment Agency. That was key to rescuing the RDA.

May 2012

Federal grant saves firefighter jobs

As the city of Reno and Washoe County fought through a bitter deconsolidation of their joint fire service, Clinger was forced to contemplate laying off up to 80 Reno firefighters. He ultimately was saved from going through with that plan when the city won a federal grant that funded 64 positions.

Photo: Clinger with former Reno Mayor Bob Cashell.

July 2012

Fire divorce

After several failed deals to save the city and county's consolidated fire services, Clinger was at the helm of the acrimonious "fire divorce." The fallout from the bitter parting of ways lasted for more than three years.

September 2012

Financial transparency

Clinger launched new city web applications that allow users to see city payroll data and invoice information.

January 2013

Cozy with baseball developers

A Reno Gazette-Journal public information request netted a cache of emails between Clinger and the developers of the Aces Ballpark that showed a tight knit relationship between city staff and the developers. At the time, the developers were negotiating a new public financing deal for the stadium after the original expected tax revenue for the project never materialized. The city now pays baseball about $1 million a year to mitigate the developers' construction costs.

April 2014

Reno loses fire grant

While Clinger relied on a federal grant to save 64 firefighter positions in 2012, he failed to work out a plan to keep those jobs in place should the grant go away. That's exactly what happened in April 2014. The loss of the federal money left Reno on the brink of slashing 35 firefighters from the payroll. The firefighter union ultimately sued and a judge prevented the city from following through with the layoffs. Revenue improved and the city wound up keeping the positions.

Photo: Clinger and former Fire Chief Michael Hernandez

June 2014

Double-dipping police chief

The Reno City Council declared a critical shortage of police chief candidates, without doing an actual recruitment or search, in order to keep department veteran Steve Pitts as chief. Under the declaration, Pitts was able to collect both a salary and his retirement pension payment. The police chief is selected by the city manager and confirmed by the council.

Photo: Steve Pitts

November 2014

Election ushers in new council

The November 2014 election was a key turning point in Clinger's tenure as city manager. Hillary Schieve was elected mayor and two new council members won seats, ending Mayor Bob Cashell and his coalition's 12-year run. The new council is largely Democratic, while the last council was mostly Republican. And everyone on the council is in their first term.

December 2014

Reining in retirement benefit costs

Clinger made it a priority to begin sharing the burden of retirement benefit cost increases with city workers, as well as to begin funding the city's looming unfunded liability for retirement health benefits. As labor relations improved under the new council, Clinger was able to negotiate such cost sharing with most of the city's bargaining groups.

March 2015

Kiev mission scuttled

The council was incensed when it became clear that Chief Steve Pitts had sent a team of Reno police officers to Kiev, Ukraine to help train a new civil police force in the war torn country. Concerns about the city's liability and the officers' safety prompted the council to order the officers home. Clinger was caught in the middle. Pitts had asked Clinger's permission via a brief text message exchange, rather than through a formal briefing.

April-May 2015

Police chief quits, union leader hired

Amid the controversy over the Kiev training mission, Police Chief Steve Pitts decided to move up his retirement date. To fill his shoes, Clinger picked Officer Jason Soto, an 18-year veteran of the force who was the head of the local police union. Soto did not meet the minimum qualifications for the position, however, with no college degree and no executive police training. Clinger gave Soto two years to obtain his associate's degree and executive certification.

April 2015

Budget surplus

Just 12 months after the city tried to layoff firefighters because it didn't have the money to pay them, Clinger's staff found a $10.9 million surplus. Revenue had come in at a higher clip than forecasted, resulting in the surplus. The news was a surprise and Clinger took heat for not initiating more public input before recommending how the money should be spent.

January 2016

Fire divorce finally ends

After brokering an automatic aid agreement between the city and county fire departments, Clinger also helped settle the long standing dispute over who owned money to whom in the fire divorce.

June 2016

Clinger gets a raise

The council voted unanimously to allow Clinger's contract to automatically renew and also gave him a 3 percent pay raise.

June 29, 2016

Sexual harassment complaint filed

Three women filed a sexual harassment complaint against Clinger. The Reno City Attorney, without taking the matter to the council, hired an outside lawyer to investigate. That lawyer found Clinger had not violated the city's policy.

July 29, 2016

Allegations become public

An attorney for the three women filed a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General claiming the Reno City Council violated the Open Meeting Law in an attempt to keep the complaints against Clinger from public scrutiny. It was the first time the existence of the complaints became public. Clinger vigorously defended his innocence, calling the allegations "utterly ridiculous."

Aug. 10, 2016

Council hires outside law firm

The Reno City Council voted unanimously to hire Kamer Zucker Abbott out of Las Vegas to manage the investigation into the misconduct allegations. They planned to spend $50,000. A few days later, Clinger agreed to take a voluntary paid leave of absence.

Sept. 6, 2016

Investigation costs triple

The Reno City Council voted unanimously to increase the contract amount to Kamer Zucker Abbott to $100,000 and hire a new investigator for $50,000.

Sept. 8, 2016

Clinger announces his resignation

Clinger agrees to step down from his position after the council scheduled a meeting to consider his employment with the city.

Under the terms of the separation agreement signed by outgoing Reno City Manager Andrew Clinger, the city would pay him six months severance as well as $30,000 to cover his attorneys fees.

Clinger signed the separation agreement on Thursday, after being served notice that Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve planned to call a special meeting to consider his removal from office.

The notice warned that the council would "discuss any items germane" to the decision to remove him, including his "character, alleged misconduct and professional competence" at the meeting.

Under the city Charter and state law, the council would have to adopt a preliminary resolution to remove Clinger from office by a majority vote at a public meeting.

That meeting was avoided when the two sides reached the separation agreement Thursday. While Clinger has signed the agreement, the council must vote to approve it during a special meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Under the agreement, obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal on Friday morning, the city will pay Clinger the severance he's entitled to under his employment contract. That includes six months salary worth about $103,000, as well as any accrued sick and vacation leave. The city also will make a contribution to his retirement account. The full dollar amount of his severance wasn't available Friday morning.

In addition to his severance, the city agrees to pay Clinger $30,000 to cover the cost of his personal lawyer, who has represented him throughout the ongoing misconduct investigation.

The investigation is expected to take until mid-October. Reno City Attorney Karl Hall said the results of the investigation will be made public.

"I respect the mayor's decision to bring to the council the question of Mr. Clinger's continued engagement with the city and, in light of the possible drawn out process that could result in his removal, Mr. Clinger's decision to resign," Brekhus said.

Councilwoman Naomi Duerr said Clinger's departure is for the best.

"Andrew has been a key figure during a very difficult period for the city and much was accomplished during his tenure," she said. "While challenging for all, this change will allow both Andrew and the city to move toward new horizons with focus and a fresh perspective. I wish Andrew all the best."

Original Story:

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and other council members.

Reno City Manager Andrew Clinger said Thursday he has agreed to end his employment with the city of Reno amid a continuing misconduct investigation that has taken more than two months and is expected to cost the city more than $150,000.

“I have enjoyed my time as City Manager and take great pride in the accomplishments of this city over past years," Clinger said in a written statement. "Councils past and present have come together in times of crisis and opportunity to move Reno forward and greet each challenge and opportunity with passion and care. I am proud to call Reno my home and grateful to work and raise my family here. So, it will be with a heavy heart that I announce I will be leaving the City Manager’s position effective Oct. 9th.

"Obviously, the last few weeks have been challenging for me and my family. No one enjoys having their name sullied or their professional conduct questioned. However, I have complete confidence my reputation will be cleared when this process is completed."

The Reno City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to consider the settlement agreement reached between Clinger and Reno City Attorney Karl Hall that will outline the terms of his departure.

Under his contract, Clinger is entitled to six months severance pay. That would cost the city about $103,000.

The settlement agreement was reached Thursday evening after the city served Clinger a notice on Wednesday that Mayor Hillary Schieve planned to call a meeting to consider his employment.

Hall said the city would continue its investigation into the sexual harassment and retaliation claims by three women employees.

That's a necessary condition for Councilman Paul McKenzie.

"We still owe the employees a thorough investigation of their complaints," McKenzie said when asked for a reaction to Clinger's departure.

Schieve said she called the special meeting to consider Clinger's employment to keep the city focused on moving forward.

"We have accomplished many great things under Andrew’s leadership, and we want to thank him for his service to our city," she said in a written statement. "I believe we are at a turning point and that it is imperative that city staff and the City Council stay focused on the health and vibrancy of our organization. Therefore, I have called for a Special Meeting as a necessary step to ensure the organization remains solely focused on moving Reno forward."

Clinger has steadfastly maintained his innocence, calling the allegations by three women “utterly ridiculous” and accusing them of trying to ruin his reputation with “outright lies.”

An initial investigation by an outside lawyer found Clinger did not violate the city’s harassment policy.

A lawyer for the women, however, raised concerns about how that investigation was conducted without council oversight. The lawyer, Bill Peterson, contended that gave Clinger undue influence over the process.

After Peterson filed a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General accusing the council of violating the Open Meeting Law, the council took public action and hired a Las Vegas law firm to manage the ongoing investigation. That law firm is costing the city up to $100,000.

Most recently, the council voted to spend $50,000 to hire a new investigator to look into retaliation claims filed by the women.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also is investigating whether documents supporting one of the women’s complaints were stolen from her office. Those documents were reported missing on July 29, about the same time the sexual harassment complaints were made public.

Hall said it is still important for the city to gather the facts of what happened.

"We are going to continue with the investigation," Hall said. "We are duty bound to investigate any allegations to make sure we don’t have a hostile work environment. So we’re going forward with that."

Clinger said he is counting on the full investigation to clear his name.

"The findings of the initial investigation now known to most all involved found no evidence of wrong doing, because none occurred," Clinger said in his statement. "Given that, I look forward to the full public release of this investigation in the coming days, so that everyone will know the real facts in this case."

Clinger concluded his statement by wishing the mayor and council well.

Clinger has been on voluntary leave since Aug. 8. Assistant city manager Bill Thomas has been named acting city manager.

Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus said she had no comment on Clinger's resignation.

"I have no details," she said. "I just heard this."

Councilman David Bobzien said Clinger's resignation is "welcome news."

"Ultimately it came down to the mayor and council have a duty to the citizens and we had to find a way to move forward," Bobzien said. "We were in a bit of a standstill with everything and there was concern that there were key initiatives that were potentially stalling. We felt, despite the fact we need to take our time and conduct the investigation properly, in terms of city operations, we didn’t want to lose a step."

Councilwoman Neoma Jardon praised Clinger's tenure.

"Andrew's leadership was instrumental in guiding the city through some very difficult times," she said in a written statement. "I am sad for his departure, and I wish he and his beautiful family all the best. As we move past this, we must remain focused on key initiatives, projects, services and opportunities that will continue to move our community forward."

Councilman Oscar Delgado echoed Jardon's sentiment.

"Mr. Clinger was a great asset to the city during a difficult economic time and we thank him for his service," he said in a written statement. "Making hard decisions in order to improve and move forward is the hallmark of leadership. We are at a place where these hard decisions are being made to do exactly that and move Reno forward in the best direction."